


A Not So Secret Love

by liruicchi



Category: The Cruel Prince, The Cruel Prince - Holly Black, tfota - Fandom, the folk of the air - Fandom
Genre: Faeries - Freeform, Greenbriar, Other, cardan greenbriar - Freeform, court of shadows, elfhame, fae, holly black - Freeform, tfota
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21732001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liruicchi/pseuds/liruicchi
Summary: Being part of Dain’s circle of spies, the last thing The Ghost had expected to find was friendship. Camaraderie, maybe. But not friendship, pure and fun.So imagine his surprise when an extremely irritable faerie girl works her way into the Court of Shadows, and forces him to spend time with her.Of course, something happens. They start to feel—and they’d like to pretend the rest of the court doesn’t know about it.
Relationships: The ghost x kaielin, the ghost x oc
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Holly Black](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Holly+Black).



> This is my first time writing fan fiction for Holly Black:D. Please bear with me.  
> Yes, this is a Ghost x OC fan fiction. I thought it would be fun.

A NOT SO SECRET LOVE

It wasn’t every day a new spy entered Prince Dain of Elfhame’s secret circle, and even if they did the prince would’ve alerted the already existing spies of the circle. He had done that with The Roach and The Bomb, so the Ghost believed it was to be done with all new recruits. After all, it was common sense.

Naturally, he was surprised when Dain brought Her in without prior warning.

She smelled of rain and storm, as if she’d just stepped out of one, but somehow still dry. The moment the archer had laid eyes on her, he’d known she was beautiful. Thought she was a courtier who wandered too far, who had to be eliminated. He went for the kill.

The girl, swift and alert, had dodged his arrows, quickly running off, inky black hair trailing behind her. So he followed, shooting arrows at her all the while. When he had finally caught her, though, she was less than scared, not a hint of fear shown. She’d been annoyed and unhappy, but nowhere near frightened. Good thing for him, he cared not for such a trivial thing as filling a prisoner with fear. Instead, he’d inquired about her business here, if she knew where she was. She’d replied with a kick to the shin and a hiss that she in fact did know where she was, that the prince had sent her there himself. Surprise filled him, but he pushed on. After all, faeries may not be able to lie, but they were still tricky and deceitful.

The shooter pushed her about which prince, exactly, she was talking about. For it could’ve been another of the Greenbriars, or maybe even a prince from another kingdom. Perhaps even the son of the exiled alderking in Fairfold.

“Prince Dain Greenbriar of Elfhame, who else?” The faerie rolled her eyes, rolling her head slightly with it. A wave of inky hair fell over her face, causing her to attempt to blow it away, but to no avail. So she gave up, turning her attention—and irritable expression—back to the spy in front of her. “I assume you’re to be one of my comrades?”

He nodded, eyeing her, assessing her. What her capabilities were, why Dain had chosen her. Why he hadn’t been told. “I wasn’t told of a new recruit.”

“So you shot me? What do I look like to you, a wild animal?” The faerie grumbled, hands struggling against the arrows that had struck the sleeves of her dress. “Release me, you dumb fuck,” she demanded, glaring at him with pools of turquoise. The spy’s expression remained unchanged and stony, but he yanked the arrows out, turning. He began to walk away.

When she didn’t follow, he told her, without looking back, that spies were to the hideout. And oh, did she make his life hell on the way there. Even if it was only fifteen minutes, he’d so dearly wished to be away from her, cursing himself for shooting and catching her. Now, she was his responsibility, as the one who found her.

-

“Who in the bloody hell is that?” The goblin demanded, having jumped over his table at the sight of her. He was quite new to the business of being Dain’s spy, which was a hundred times deadlier than the last Court he worked for. The Bomb, his longest comrade, just gaped at the new recruit and the archer, looking between them with wide eyes.

“She’s a new recruit,” he simply answered, walking over to a chair and sitting down, not deigning to look at her more. “She has lots of questions. Answer them.”

“I hope you do realise we’ve only been here two weeks, and you’ve been here for much longer,” the Bomb grumbled, but still looked over to the girl, now smiling. “I’m The Bomb. He’s the Roach,” she introduced, jabbing a thumb over to the goblin, who saluted in answer, “and the quiet guy’s the Ghost.”

“Nice. I’m Kaielin, pleasure to meet you,” The faerie girl smiled, holding out a hand. The pixie eyed it with slight confusion before shaking it. “You don’t do handshakes in faerieland?”

“Not when you’re a spy with a new recruit,” chimed the Roach from his chair, now sitting in it again.

“Oh, okay. Those names of yours, they’re nicknames, right?” She asked, moving on. When the pixie nodded in response, she pushed again. “Did you choose them for yourselves, or am I to rely on your expert naming skills?”

The pixie laughed at that, the Roach smiling widely. “We pick that name for you,” they both answered in unison. Kaielin smiled, taking a seat right next to the Ghost. “Okay, next question: do you ALL shoot new recruits? Or is he just special?” The other two burst into a fit of laughter at that, the pixie girl even doubling over. The Ghost, however, was unamused. He stood up and walked away, so quiet Kaielin hadn’t noticed until he was gone. She stared after him, the laughter dying in the background. After a few moments, she turned her attention back to the other two spies. “He sure is moody. Is he mad?”

“He’s always like that. Don’t worry about it, new girl,” The Bomb answered, waving her hand dismissively. Kaielin nodded, proceeding to grill them with curious questions. So now you understand why the Ghost hurried back to the hideout, as if he was rushing to save his own life. He was, in a way. He was saving his own sanity.

-

It was the Ghost who was assigned to take care of her for the first while in Dain’s Spy Circle, also known as the Court of Shadows. After all, he had the most reason to. He’d brought her there, he was the oldest spy, and he was a master at slyfooting, the most important element of espionage.

He’d awoken to a loud noise that sounded suspiciously like a body rolling down the stairs. Curiously, he quietly stepped out of his quarters and found himself near the stairs, searching for the source of the noise. Disappointingly, he found the new girl in a pile at the stairs. It was going to be a long, long session of slyfooting. “What are you doing,” he hissed at her, causing her to roll onto her elbow and face him, hair askew.

“Did I wake you?” She asked out of politeness, the answer obvious.

“Yes, you did. Now tell me what you were doing,” he breathed, annoyed.

“Well, I was trying to get the hang of a jumping kick, and I fell down the stairs. Don’t worry, I’m probably fine.”

“I don’t care whether you’re fine or not. Just be quiet, will you?” The Ghost snapped, though neither anger nor annoyance seeped into his plain tone. The faerie turned, about to go back to his own business. Unfortunately for him, her words stopped him right in his tracks, turning his head over a shoulder.

“You’re the one who made me talk, though,” she pointed out, standing up and brushing the dust off of her tights. Where had she even gotten that? She had come yesterday in an elegant sea-green ball gown, not a casual tee and shorts with tights. It wasn’t often people got under his skin, but this girl was doing it like no big deal, had been since the moment she opened her red mouth.

***

“Slyfooting?” The girl asked, tilting her head in confusion, causing waves of that inky black hair to fall over her shoulder. “What’s that?”

The Ghost didn’t deign to answer, ignoring her and her curiosity. He had walked away from her remark that morning, but that didn’t mean he wanted to entertain her. When she realised he wasn’t going to answer, she turned to the Roach and the Bomb, both of whom had been much more welcoming than the archer.

“Moving around silently. Like him,” the Bomb answered with a mouth full of berries, jerking her chin at the Ghost. Kaielin nodded, taking the information in and filing it away. “Anyways. How’s your first official day in the Court of Shadows going?” The pixie asked, running a hand through her white hair. Yesterday, when Kaielin was asking them questions, they’d said they were called the Court of Shadows, fitting for a circle of spies.

“Then what do I become? The Ghost 2.0?” The girl snorted, grabbing an apple and taking a bite of it. The taste was sweeter than most apples you could find in the markets. Most likely because it was probably stolen from the Palace, which they technically lived in, their den’s location a highly kept secret.

The Roach snorted, looking at the new girl with lazy amusement. “What, you want the same name as that guy?”

Perhaps the Ghost hadn’t gotten it, or maybe he just didn’t care, but Kaielin was definitely aware and certainly cared. She lurched forward slightly, choking on the Apple. The pixie and the goblin looked over in alarm, the Bomb moving to help her. The girl held up a hand to stop her, using the other to pat her chest. “Yeah, no thanks,” she smiled awkwardly, voice slightly strained from the choking.

The Roach raised an eyebrow. “You okay there, new girl?”

“Never been better,” Kaielin answered, rolling those turquoise eyes. “Anyways, so I gotta learn with the guy who tried to shoot me?” The girl questioned in an unimpressed tone, raising a sculpted brow, as if to say ‘really?’. The Bomb giggled and nodded. Kaielin groaned and stood, straightening out her clothes and turning to face her instructor for the day. “Shall we get started, my oh-so-charming teacher?”

The Ghost just stood without answer, walking off. Kaielin caught on, scrambling after him. “Hey! You know, if you’re gonna teach me, the best way is to communicate.”

“I have communicated.” Kaielin just groaned, following after the spy. This was going to be a long, long session.

-

“The key to being a spy is to be quiet. That’s obvious-“

“Yeah it sure fucking is,” Kaielin grumbled, rolling her eyes. The Ghost bit back a remark, aiming not to give her the banter she craved. He was about at his wits end with her, banter wouldn’t make anything better.

Instead, he ignored her words, continuing to instruct. “The most important part, however, is waiting. You must be patient and never take your attention off the target.”

“I’m not that fucking dumb, unlike someone, who shot their future teammate,” she grumbled, giving him an evil eye and enunciating the words. When the Ghost didn’t answer, she just continued to practice her slyfooting. “Does everyone else know how to do this?”

“No,” he answered curtly.

“Then why do I have to?”

“Because they have their strengths; you’ll need this.”

“You don’t even know my strengths!” She argued, whipping around. Instantly his hands reached out to her, turning the girl back around.

“Keep. Practicing,” he grit, voice forceful, though his hands were gentle. As if despite his profession, he still knew how to be a decent person. Immediately, that sent Kaielin running, shrieking.

“Oh my gods! You’re gentle?!” She screamed, fear evident on her face and chest slowly returning to its normal rise and fall.

The Ghost just blinked, casually letting his hand drop. “Why are you afraid of gentleness?” He murmured, almost incoherent. But her fae ears caught the message.

“I just didn’t think you of all people would have such a nice touch, is all,” Kaielin tried to explain herself awkwardly, only making it worse. She mentally kicked herself for it, slowly moving back toward the male and relaxing her body. The Ghost didn’t deign to answer her, only silently guiding her through the necessary movements.

“Is this all I’ll be learning from you?” The curious faerie questioned, shifting her eyes to the side as if that would enable her to see her instructor. It didn’t.

“No. You have fighting and different tricks to go through,” he answered, choppy as ever. Kaielin internally groaned, why was he so stony? Usually even the quietest of people would present something interesting before her, but this male, The Ghost...he was interesting to the point it was painful, yet showed no traits of interest. It made her want to scream and rip her hair out. But right now, she was training with him, so she couldn’t exactly do that. Instead, she focused on what he was trying to teach her, watching her step and remaining as graceful as possible. She moved with an easy grace though, which was a small blessing to her and a bit of unpredictability to the Ghost.

“Why can’t I have the Bomb or the Roach teach me?” She asked, obviously showing she was much more comfortable with him. The Ghost didn’t mind, and if he did, he showed no signs of it. He remained silent for a while, long enough that Kaielin almost thought she was alone.

“They are rowdy, and unique. You most likely possess your own unique talents, but to learn the basics of being a spy, you’re to learn them steadily. Who knows what eccentric habits they may pass to you,” her instructor replied, and she gasped. 

“That’s the longest you’ve ever spoken to me in a civil manner,” she gawped, almost turning around. However, the Ghost pushed her back into position. “Oops, sorry sorry.”

“You move with easy grace. You’ve been a spy before, haven’t you?” If his expression was unreadable, Kaielin could safely say his voice was ten times more so. From his tone and voice, she picked up nothing, forced to turn to the words themselves, which were as harmless as any other words. She internally groaned again.

“Why do I have to tell you anything?” Kaielin snapped in return, turning up her nose even though he couldn’t see it. At least, that’s what she thought. What she didn’t know, was that from behind her, the Ghost took a small bit of amusement from her reactions.

One could say he was enjoying the session.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh hi

It was hours before the Ghost decided to take Kaielin back to the den, upon a multitude of complaints from said girl. When they arrived at the den of spies, they found the Roach and the Bomb at the table playing cards, completely at ease. Kaielin cursed them for being able to, pouting.

This didn’t go unnoticed by her sandy-haired instructor and his sharp eyes, however, who just tapped her shoulder and flopped down on the divan. When she snapped her gaze to him, his eyes were relaxed. “What was that for?” The blue-eyed girl snapped, folding her arms. Behind her, the Bomb held her hand to her mouth in mock surprise, giggling right after. Kaielin ignored her.

“You want to join them, no? Then bathe first,” he drawled lazily, folding himself into a position to rest comfortably. Kaielin blinked, slightly surprised, before returning to normal almost immediately.

“Okay then,” she clicked her tongue, venturing down into her room and taking out a pair of clean clothes. She headed to the bathroom to bathe, all the while cursing the Ghost for the sweat and the stink.

When she was done, she raced upstairs to join the other two spies in their game of cards, hoping it wasn’t yet over. Instead, Kaielin found the Ghost asleep on the divan and the Roach gone, the Bomb busy filling liquids into vials. She quickly pieced together what she was doing—it was easy, with her code name.

“You’re done with your game?” The girl asked, trying not to let the disappointment show. The Bomb flicked her attention to her, smiling like they were good friends. Maybe they could be, with time. The Roach and the Bomb were infinitely easier to communicate with.

“Yeah, the Roach had to leave for a mission. Wanna play with me?” The pixie offered, but Kaielin shook her head, beads of water flicking off the ends of her dark hair.

“Another time. I can see you’re kinda busy,” Kaielin said, giving the pixie a small grin. The faerie sat down across her, though, setting her elbow on the table and resting her chin in the palm of her caramel hand. “Those are bombs, if I thought correctly?” The pixie nodded excitedly, about to answer when a groan sounded from behind Kaielin.

The faerie whipped around, more beads of water flicking as she narrowed her eyes. The Ghost sent her daggers, flicking a drop of water off of his beautiful face. Kaielin muttered a curse before giving him an awkward smile. “Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t me?”

The Ghost rolled his eyes, seemingly annoyed, before standing and waltzing over to the table. “We learn the art of swords tonight. I’m interested to see if your talent lies there, new girl.”

And then he descended the stairs without another word, living Kaielin to gulp and scare herself with the thoughts of intense physical training.

Oh, the Bomb was going to have some fun gossiping about them, alright.

-

“What? The Ghost is teaching you swordplay?” The Roach chuckled, taking a bite of an apple. At Kaielin’s glare, he looked her in the eyes with amusement and said; “what’s so bad about that?” Kaielin hissed at him, threading a hand through her dark hair.

“If I were you, Roach, I’d sleep with one eye open tonight,” she grunted, getting up as the archer appeared inside their hideout. He spared her but a glance before walking outside again, Kaielin promptly following. It had been hours since he’d told her about this training session—it was, in fact, early evening.

Immediately, he threw a blade at her.

“I’m going to assume you’re not teaching me how to be as charming as you,” Kaielin deadpanned, catching the weapon in the air and readying it. The Ghost seemed amused; either w comment, or at the fact she was wielding the sword, Kaielin didn’t know.

“First, we spar. I need to gauge your ability,” the Ghost explained, eyeing her. Observing her. Kaielin just nodded in return, also observing him. He had an unorthodox stance—it wasn’t learned in the usual swordplay. Which, of course, made it infinitely harder for Kaielin.

At first, both were preternaturally still, eyes trained on each other in such focus one would think they were disrobing each other with their eyes. Then, The Ghost struck, quick as an asp. Kaielin was pushed back, barely parrying his sword. She let out a breath, blinking then looking into his hazel eyes. By that time, the Ghost had brought his sword back and was striking again.

However, Kaielin was waiting with a move of her own. As quick as he, the faerie girl moved her sword in a circular motion, knocking into his sword. In an instant, Kaielin had her foot pressed to the pressure point in his knees, pushing down. This caused the Ghost’s sword technique to weaken, and Kaielin was able to shift her sword.

However, in another instant, the Ghost has knocked her feet out from under her. Now free of her force, he jumped to his feet, angling his sword at her neck. “You let your guard down. You let me knock out your feet. Again,” he instructed, moving his sword away and taking a step back. Kaielin groaned, lifting herself up.

“Charming indeed,” she muttered, getting into a stance and readying her sword. “Your lover must be so impressed.” This time, Kaielin has the first move, striking at his stomach just halfway through her sentence.

“I do not have one,” the Ghost countered, blocking her sword and charging his own forward. Kaielin raised a brow at him, dodging the blow.

“Really? Very hard to believe,” she snorted, spinning and bringing her sword around. The Ghost ducked, the sword barely missing his face. Kaielin furrowed her brows and kicked him back in the stomach, sending him stumbling just a bit. When the Ghost didn’t answer to her words, she said; “why don’t you have one?”

The Ghost was silent for a moment, the only sound the clashing of their swords as they went for the blow at the same time. High, low, high, middle. Clang, clash, clang, clash. Finally, he said; “I have no need for one.” Kaielin raised a brow, about to talk more, but the Ghost talked before she could. “Be quiet. I’m trying to assess your ability.”

Kaielin laughed, something she’d regret in the next few seconds, when the Ghost knocked her over and told her to go again.

“Very, very charming,” she grumbled, lifting herself up. This cycle repeated itself until night had well and truly fallen—Kaielin mocking him, their swords clashing, him getting in a better blow and knocking her down, then him making her get up again.

Ah, now she remembered just how much she hated swordplay.

-

“Kaielin, what the fuck is that?”

The girl rolled her eyes, continuing to set the table. “It’s called poison, Roach,” she deadpanned, measuring the salt with a finger. The Roach snorted. In reality, what Kaielin had was a small vial of wine, a glass of seawater and a salt shaker.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatcha doin’ with it?” The goblin took a seat on the chair next to her, staring at the table. He tried to figure it out, but gave up in an instant. Newbies did what they did—it was only a matter of time before he and the Bomb got used to Kaielin’s strange habits.

“I’m going to drink it,” she simply responded, carefully tipping the wine into the glass. The Roach choked.

“What’s the reason?” Of course he’d seen worse in his day, but still. Why would a new recruit be drinking such a concoction? It was basically poison in itself—was she about to perform mithridatism? Did Kaielin do such things as that?

For a second, Kaielin didn’t answer. Then—“I don’t know. My mother used to give it to me when I was little. I guess I never outgrew it.” The Roach blinked, though he didn’t really know if he expected such an answer or not. After all, they were spies, and not spies with lovely backstories.

He was about to speak again, though to say what he really didn’t know—perhaps something about a card game—but the arrival of a certain person caught his attention instead. However, the same couldn’t be said for Kaielin, who instead kept her careful eye on the drink she was creating. If the Roach wasn’t up and shouting, she was most likely safe. Most likely.

The Ghost stood directly behind her, raising a brow at the liquid. He looked to the Roach, searching for answers in his face. All he found, though, was that the Roach also found it distasteful. “If that drink ruins you, you’ll be useless to the Court of Shadows—and Dain—before you even start on your first mission.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Ghost. You’ve tortured me enough tonight—stop being a sadist,” she bit back distractedly, softly shaking the salt into the seawater-wine. The Ghost just stared at her blankly, the Roach smiling at the interaction. She was definitely a fierce one, and the Roach knew he’d hate to get on her bad side with a knife at her ready. He’d really, really hate it.

When Kaielin had finally finished and downed her drink, she turned to find the Ghost still there, staring at her. A small noise of shock came from her, surprised to find him still there. She quickly recovered, though, at the thought of him teasing her about it in their next lesson.

“Why are you here, anyway?” She muttered, wiping the corner of her mouth with her wrist.

“I don’t really know, perhaps I live here?” The spy snapped back, earning him a small smile from the faerie. He internally cursed himself—she wanted this; she wanted banter. And he had, was, giving it to her. He’d given her what she wanted today, and now he was doing it again. He spoke again before she could bark out a comeback. “But, Prince Dain has a mission for you. Us.”


End file.
